Budgetology: As Far As The Eye Can See

Budgetology: As Far As The Eye Can See

Deficits as far as the eye can see? Washington’s proved they can do it, but why would they want to? On several Sunday talk shows this weekend, White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer stated the curious goal of running endless deficits and explained that the president’s budget is just the ticket. Make no mistake, more deficits, large or small, mean our debt continues to grow. But after four years of promises that more spending will improve the economy with nothing but high unemployment, massive debt, and higher taxes to show for it, the last thing Americans are looking for are “deficits as far as the eye can see.”

White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer On ABC’s This Week: “There’s a false choice between deficits as far as the eye can see and job creation and economic growth now. You can do both. That is what the president’s budget does.” (White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer, Fox News Sunday, 4/7/13)

White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer On Fox News Sunday: “We don’t have to choose between deficits as far as the eye can see, and job creation, and economic growth. You can do both.” (White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer, This Week, 4/7/13)

President Obama: “We don’t have a spending problem.” (Stephen Moore, “The Education of John Boehner,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/6/13)

President Obama: “My goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance.” (Kevin Liptak, Obama dismisses balancing budget ‘for sake of balance’,” CNN, 3/12/13)

President Obama: “We don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt. In fact, for the next 10 years, it’s gonna be in a sustainable place.” (President Obama, Good Morning America, 3/13/13)

With The Stimulus, The White House Projected The Unemployment Rate Would Be About 5 Percent By Now(Eric Platt, “Chart: Obama said the unemployment rate would be much, much lower by now,” Business Insider, 9/7/12)

Voters Want Fiscal Responsibility, Not Endless Deficits: “Voters are similarly at odds with Washington on the budget deficit. Almost all think the federal government should be required to balance its budget (85 percent) and believe reducing the budget deficit is a worthy goal ‘in and of itself’ (85 percent).” (Dana Blanton, “Fox News Poll: Voters say debt is immediate problem, nervous about economy,” Fox News, 3/20/13)

Up From 74 Percent Earlier This Year. “[T]he vast majority of Americans (74 percent) believe the federal government spends too much, and the same percentage (74) disagree with President Obama’s statement that “We don’t have spending problem.” (The Tarrance Group, “New Poll: Majority Of Americans Disagree With President On Spending,” Public Notice, 2/18/13)

AND THE CBO SAYS CONTINUING TO PILE UP DEBT COULD LEAD TO INCREASED RISK, POSSIBLE CRISIS

By 2023, Debt Held By The Public Will Equal 77 Percent of GDP. “By 2023, if current laws remain in place, debt will equal 77 percent of GDP and be on an upward path, CBO projects.” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2013-2023,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/4/13)

The CBO Says That A Large Debt Poses An Increased Risk. “Moreover, such a large debt poses an increased risk of precipitating a fiscal crisis, during which investors would lose so much confidence in the government’s ability to manage its budget that the government would be unable to borrow at affordable rates.” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2013-2023,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/4/13)

FLASHBACK: A Continued Surge In Debt Could Lead To Fiscal Crisis. “[I]f the fiscal tightening was removed and the policies that are currently in effect were kept in place indefinitely, a continued surge in federal debt during the rest of this decade and beyond would raise the risk of a fiscal crisis (in which the government would lose the ability to borrow money at affordable interest rates) and would eventually reduce the nation’s output and income below what would occur if the fiscal tightening was allowed to take place as currently set by law.” (Congressional Budget Office, “Economic Effects of Policies Contributing to Fiscal Tightening in 2013,” 11/8/12)

BankruptingAmerica.org is an educational project of Public Notice, an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to providing facts and insight on the effects public policy has on Americans’ financial well-being.

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